Gregory Heisler Photographs a Crowd of 3.000 People with 3 Profoto Strobes

For the one-year anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, Sports Illustrated did a special cover, including 3.000 Bostonians standing united at the site of the tragic event. American Photo has interviewed the guy who got the shot. His name is Gregory Heisler and here is how he did it.

For the one-year anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, Sports Illustrated did a special cover, including 3.000 Bostonians standing united at the site of the tragic event. American Photo has interviewed the guy who got the shot. His name is Gregory Heisler and here is how he did it.

“It wasn’t a technical kind of picture,” Gregory Heisler tells American Photo’s Stan Horazcek. “It was more about being able to get a response from the crowd.”

There has apparently been some debate regarding if the cover image was lit or not. Horazcek, of course, asks about this. Heisler replies:

“All we used to light up that entire crowd were two Profoto heads. They were battery-powered Pro-7Bs. They’re 1200 watt strobes and we had them powered down to about half-power.”

“I had another light about a half a block away doing the same exact thing on the back half of the crowd,” he then adds. “It wasn’t like I had a main light and a fill light. They were both doing the same thing in different areas.”

Heisler also comments on his choice of Light Shaping Tool, which he describes as “the secret weapon in the Profoto lineup.” Can you guess what it is?